Calming Anxiety | Guided Meditation, Sleep Hypnosis & Panic Attack Relief

By the Rule of Contrary by L. M. Montgomery — A Funny Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with By the Rule of Contrary by L. M. Montgomery, a warm and gently funny country love story read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

Out in the turnip field on a summer afternoon, young Burton Ellis tells his father the truth. He has been courting Madge Oliver all summer, they are engaged, and they hope to marry in the autumn. Old John Ellis, known as the most contrary man in Greenwood, flies into a rage. No son of his will marry an Oliver, and if Burton does, he won't see a cent of money or a rod of land.

 

Down in her little brown house, Madge cries her heart out. But her aunt, Miss Susan Oliver, a tall, grim-looking spinster with the kindest heart in the district, isn't worried at all. She went to school with John Ellis, and she knows exactly how to manage him.

 

So Miss Susan squares her shoulders, twists up her grey hair, and marches up the lane to his veranda. What follows is a delightful battle of wills, a lesson in how to drive a pig, and an ending that will leave you smiling as you drift off.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Calm narration, gentle humour and a soft, unhurried pace make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L. M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including Kismet, The Story of an Invitation, A Case of Trespass, A Golden Wedding and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner.

 

By the Rule of Contrary was first published in 1908 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1907 to 1908. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety-guided-meditation-sleep-hypnosis-panic-attack-relief--4110266/support.

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Why Do I Feel Guilty When I Rest? — Anxiety Relief Guided Meditation | Permission to Rest

 

Why do I feel guilty when I rest? You finally sit down, and straight away your mind starts listing everything you could be doing: the washing, the unanswered message, the thing you said you'd sort out. This 10-minute guided meditation is for anyone who rests but never really settles, and who feels they have to earn a break.

 

Listen offline in Anchored, Martin's own app, with an Instant Calm button for the moments you feel panicky or anxious. iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 | Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

Clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett guides you through gentle, uncounted breath awareness, a simple way to notice the "I should be doing something" thought without obeying it, calming affirmations about rest and self-care, and three daily caring tips for when rest guilt and productivity guilt won't let you switch off.

 

⏱️ Time Chapters

* 00:00 – Why do I feel guilty when I rest?

* 00:47 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety

* 01:21 – Finding your comfy place

* 01:46 – When stopping feels uncomfortable

* 02:14 – Leaving the explanation unfinished

* 02:44 – Ordinary breath, no counting

* 03:56 – "I should be doing something"

* 04:39 – Relaxing isn't another job

* 05:37 – Acknowledging the guilt

* 06:16 – Unfinished isn't the same as wrong

* 06:51 – Today's gentle affirmations

* 07:48 – Choosing the words that help most

* 08:28 – 3 Daily Caring Tips

* 09:23 – Returning to the room

* 10:02 – Support the show in Anchored

* 10:59 – Be kind

 

🌿 Today's Gentle Affirmations

Repeat these quietly whenever you feel guilty for resting:

* I am allowed to take a break with things still unfinished.

* My needs belong on the to-do list as well.

* I can care about my responsibilities and still care for myself.

* I do not have to make every quiet moment productive.

* I will practise resting a little at a time.

 

💡 3 Daily Caring Tips

1. **Let one task wait** – Choose one task that can safely wait and let yourself take a brief break before it's finished. Give yourself the chance to experience rest without reaching the end of the list.

2. **Change the language** – Notice the language you use when you stop. If "I'm being lazy" appears, try something more accurate: "I'm taking a break." You don't need to add an accusation to an ordinary human need.

3. **Make one small request** – If you need help, ask someone to share a job, give you a little time or simply keep you company. You don't have to carry everything silently.

 

📱 Take Calming Anxiety With You Anywhere

Support the show by listening in Anchored, made by Martin, not a corporate machine. Every episode in one easy app, plus Premium with no ads, the full Books at Bedtime library, and your favourite night lights and box breathing saved:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

If this episode helped, please share it with someone who never stops, and take 30 seconds to leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. It helps others find calm too.

 

And in everything, my friend, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety-guided-meditation-sleep-hypnosis-panic-attack-relief--4110266/support.

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Kismet by L. M. Montgomery — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with Kismet by L. M. Montgomery, a short, quietly romantic Victorian story read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

It is a brilliant September afternoon at the races. The crowd on the grandstand is cheering the mare Lulu home in the free-for-all when a young woman drops her scorecard, and the man in front of her turns to offer his own. As their eyes meet, both of them go pale. He is the husband she left five years ago.

 

She married him at eighteen, a high-spirited society beauty. He was older, a quiet scholar who loved books and seclusion. Their strong wills clashed, and after two unhappy years they parted without scandal. Now, side by side in the grandstand, they make polite small talk about the race while old feelings rise to the surface.

 

As Lulu and her rival, Mascot, line up for the deciding heat, he asks her a question she isn't ready to answer, and she makes an impulsive bargain that leaves everything to fate. What follows is a gentle, satisfying story about pride, second chances and the things we leave unsaid.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Calm narration, a soft, unhurried pace and a tender ending make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L. M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including The Story of an Invitation, A Case of Trespass, A Golden Wedding and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner.

 

Kismet was first published in 1899 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1896 to 1901. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety-guided-meditation-sleep-hypnosis-panic-attack-relief--4110266/support.

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety-guided-meditation-sleep-hypnosis-panic-attack-relief--4110266/support.

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

The Story of an Invitation by L. M. Montgomery — A Calming Bedtime Story for Sleep & Insomnia | Books at Bedtime

 

Drift off to sleep with The Story of an Invitation by L. M. Montgomery, a gentle and heart-warming short story read aloud by Martin Hewlett on Books at Bedtime, the sleep story series from Calming Anxiety.

 

Bertha Sutherland is bright, pretty and popular at the academy in Dartmouth. Her roommate, Grace Maxwell, is quiet, pale and dressed in mourning, alone in the world since the aunt who raised her died. Over one pleasant school year the two become close friends.

 

As the summer holidays approach, Bertha receives a letter she has been hoping for. Her beloved Aunt Meg invites her to Riverdale for strawberries and cream, picnics, parties and long sunny days with friends. Grace, meanwhile, plans to spend her whole summer working behind the counter of a hot city bookstore, because she can't afford anything else.

 

Lying awake after midnight, Bertha makes a quiet decision of her own. What follows is a tender, comforting story about kindness, friendship and the joy of giving something away, with an ending that feels like a warm blanket.

 

This classic bedtime story for adults is perfect for winding down, easing insomnia and letting a busy mind settle into deep, restful sleep. Calm narration, a soft, unhurried pace and a reassuring ending make it an ideal sleep audiobook for anyone who finds it hard to switch off at night.

 

If you enjoy L. M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables, you'll find more of her short stories on Books at Bedtime, including A Case of Trespass, A Golden Wedding and Uncle Richard's New Year's Dinner.

 

The Story of an Invitation was first published in 1901 and is collected in Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1896 to 1901. L. M. Montgomery (1874–1942) and this story are in the public domain.

 

Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett.

 

📱 Listen to Books at Bedtime in the Anchored app, offline and with the screen off, so you can fall asleep without a bright phone in your hand:

 

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669

 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored

 

🧡 For Martin's calming tips, visit: https://calminganxiety.org/calm

 

Sleep well, my friend. And in everything, be kind.

 

 

Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!

 

YouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1

 

Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/

 

Music: All music by Chris Collins at Indie Music Box

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety-guided-meditation-sleep-hypnosis-panic-attack-relief--4110266/support.

Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.